Supporting Attention Spans through Early Childhood
A number of families have come to our playgroups asking why their child will only engage with activities for a very short period of time. This is more common than you think, and if this is happening in your home please know that you are not alone.
First, let's define what an attention span means and set some realistic expectations for these kids. When we talk about an attention span, we are referring to how long someone is willing to ignore distractions and focus on a person, object or activity (American Academy of Pediatrics). The APA's rule of thumb is that children will have an attention span of 3-5 minutes per year of age. We expect a 2 year old to engage with an activity without distractions for 6-10 minutes, a 4 year old can be expected to engage with an activity for 12-20 minutes, and so on. Please note, all children develop differently and engage in play differently. If you have any behavioral or developmental concerns, you can fill out an ASQ and we will help you interpret the results. You can share the results with your pediatrician, or take the ASQ just to learn more about your child's development.
Link to our Ages and Stages Questionaire
Now that we know what to expect and look for, how do we support this cognitive development skill? I'm so glad you asked! There are a number of best practices and strategies, but the ones that will work best are the ones you're willing to be consistent on. Here are some of our best pieces of advice,
Limit overwhelming choices. If I have 30 minutes to play and 6 different activities available to me, I might want to play with each and every one of them. If all the toys at home are readily available, this can have a similar feeling. That pace of play might be dizzying to watch, and feel super rushed. It is important to give children choices over their day, this gives them a sense of control they often lack within their day. However, too many choices make it hard for kids to focus in on one activity at a time. They might be telling a story with letter-bots but thinking about playing with a construct-a-letter kit. As they get better at ignoring distractions, you can allow for more distractions to be in the room. If your child is struggling to ignore distractions, help them out by minimizing distractions from their field of view. Other strategies include using verbal cues like "First-Then" language, and visual aides to remind them of what they're working on. As always- practice practice practice. Small changes over time yield powerful results.
More reading from HealthyChildren.Org
Minimize screen time as much as possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages screen time use for children under 2 years old. Sometimes screen time can support parents and caregivers with their mental health when caregiving responsibilities get overwhelming. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends the following: Until 18 months, screen time use should be limited to video chatting with adults (for example, a family member who is out of town). Between 18 and 24 months, screen time should be very limited; any screen time use for children under 24 months should be limited to educational programming with a caregiver. For children ages 2-5, screen time should be limited to less than 1 hour per day.
It is important to be thoughtful about the content children have access to (disable AutoPlay on YouTube). You will find that not all kids programming is made the same. There are TV shows that are designed to engage your kids in the show, while there are others that are designed to enrich your children with developmentally appropriate materials. Before you choose a show, take a few minutes to learn who made that show. Shows made by PBS have child development experts on staff to ensure that the programs are enriching. There are great shows out there, please find the ones that align with your child development goals. If you choose to watch a show, watch it together and engage with it together. Talk about what you see, ask questions about what they heard, and laugh together.
Here is a link to more screen time resources
More reading from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Practice Playtime and Turn Taking (keep an eye on the time). Engaging in play together with your child is a great way to keep them engaged on one activity at a time for longer periods of time. This strategy is easier to follow when your child is engaging in cooperative play with you, but you can definitely try this with younger kids as well. I encourage all families to play with their kids this way at our playgroups. This is also a great opportunity to practice taking turns together as you play. Taking turns with parents and caregivers is important to practice in order establish a basis for children to take turns with their peers. Do your best to keep an eye on the time, see how long their attention can remain focused, and HAVE FUN!
Use Schedules and routines to your advantage. There's parts of all of our days that can seem repetitive, but routines have so many benefits for kids as they grow up. Night time routines help our bodies signal to our brain that it is time to go to sleep. Scheduling in time to work on specific activities that we know can be engaging can help signal to our brains that its time to focus. One of the easiest ways to do this is with reading. Practice dialogic reading together (just like at our playgroups!) as part of your routine. Some families routinely read together after lunch, after a nap, or before bedtime. Whatever you choose, try to stick to a routine so your children know what to expect.
Modeling for parents and caregivers. Remember that kids are often sponges, absorbing information from all of their surroundings. How often do your kids see you watching TV while reading a text on your phone? When you play together, are you writing an email? We're all human, but if we want our kids to be present with their surroundings their grown ups should be role models of that behavior.
Finding ways to slow down, for caregivers and children alike. You may have noticed that I take a few extra steps with our groups before I start to read the story. First I model three big breaths, then I invite the kids to reach up, wiggle their fingers, turn their ears on (so they can hear all the words), and point their noses/chins at me. This serves many functions, but I find that it's one of the most effective strategies that I have to engage kids in the books. Not only does this give ourselves a buffer to transition from a high energy activity to a low energy activity, but we slowed down our heart rates by breathing deeply, and gave each kid really achievable instructions with loads of praise. If you're someone who practices deep breathing, yoga, mindfulness, or meditation in some form at home, I encourage you to invite your kids to join in with you. If you're looking for more inspiration on how to do this please reach out, we would be happy to help you.
References
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry . (2025, June). Screen Time and Children. https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-And-Watching-TV-054.aspx#:~:text=Between 18 and 24 months,limit activities that include screens
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2009, August 1). Cognitive development in infants: 8 to 12 months. HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Cognitive-Development-8-to-12-Months.aspx
Pappas, S. (2022, June 30). What do we really know about kids and screens?. Monitor on psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/cover-kids-screens
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